startup

Scotland, mid-19th century. An intruder has been spotted at night on the grounds of Lammermoor Castle, home of Enrico Ashton. Normanno, the captain of the guard, sends Enrico’s men off in search of the stranger. Enrico arrives, troubled. His family’s fortunes are in danger, and only the arranged marriage of his sister, Lucia, with Lord Arturo can save them.
When the Santa Fe Opera House debuted the opening night of the tragic opera “Lucia Di Lammermoore” in July, ... Read More

As the executive director of an organization working to increase entrepreneurship in inner-city communities, Oye Waddell sees many obstacles - as well as assets - for hungry entrepreneurs.
One issue is childcare.
“One of the issues we’ve seen in the past is that many women would like to come to the training and want to develop, but they don’t have access to childcare,” said Waddell, who runs Hustle PHX, which works in areas with high-unemployment rates and minority communities. “If their ... Read More

Kimberly Corbitt doesn’t have anything against pharmaceutical sales reps. She used to be one.
But she believes that the $15 billion the industry spends annually sending them to doctors’ offices is an ineffective and inefficient system that has helped fuel astronomical hikes in drug prices and widespread public mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry.
What consumers, health care providers and the drug industry needs, she says, is a web-based interface that merges information about drugs, ... Read More

Since leaving his day job at TriLumina, the semiconductor laser technology company he helped found, John Joseph, a former college basketball player, artist and serial entrepreneur, spends most of his time these days in his garage.
Joseph has transformed the space into a private optics laboratory to develop his latest invention, an inexpensive chip the size of a head of pin that has potential to help solve one of the most vexing challenges of the digital age: delivering affordable ... Read More

When Steve Soroosh owned a used car dealership in 2012, he learned the hard way that even when a vehicle looks perfect, it can be fatally flawed.
Buying cars at auction is always a crapshoot, he admits. Dealers have mere minutes to evaluate a vehicle before bidding on it, trusting that their knowledge is enough to catch whether a vehicle is treasure or trash.
A sparkling little 2006 Mini Cooper proved to be Soroosh’s downfall.
It looked perfect. It was as bright and shiny as a new ... Read More

While in London, Marcus Robinson of Oklahoma City struggled to find recommendations on local places to eat, pubs to visit or nearby attractions.
Tasked with starting a European branch for the firm he worked for, Robinson stayed in London hotels and in other cities around Europe. Like many visitors, he would wait in line at the hotel concierge desk to ask questions about restaurants, tourist attractions or even services.
Though digital advertising signs were placed in the lobby, touting ... Read More

In the business world, the words ‘big data’ have almost become synonymous with business intelligence. But as companies and entrepreneurs scurry to find ways to harness all that potential for profits, an Albuquerque start-up called Resilient Solutions 21 is layering data into new applications that could also have broad implications for public safety and social and economic change.
Imagine first responders being able click on a button to see a 3-D map of their town with accurate ... Read More

Sometimes a simple question leads to a great idea.
Robin Smith of Oklahoma City was a marketing and digital freelance consultant for local car dealerships when a friend asked a fateful question that would change her life. About to purchase an item off eBay, the friend asked her if she knew anyone who could go “check it out.”
“I didn’t. It shocked me that this service didn’t exist,” said Smith. “It was just a simple idea, but no one was doing it. That’s when I started ... Read More

Editor’s note:This is the third and final installment of a three-part series on the growing field of genomics and bioformatics in the Silicon66 region, which includes Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, New Mexico and Arizona. The series included an examination of genetic research being done at Oklahoma’s Langston University to help goat producers, and a look the work of Agric-Bioformatics.
Lexi Palmer can tell when a horse is suffering, how it nips and bucks when ... Read More

‘Best lists’ are a prize for every A+ entrepreneurial city. Lately, Tempe, Arizona, seems to have a golden ticket to the land of superlatives. What’s its special magic?
To find out, says City of Tempe Economic Development Director Donna Kennedy, simply arrive one sun-splashed afternoon and watch the city change right before your eyes.
That’s the hour when the population almost doubles, when a wave of Tempe’s highly educated, highly paid workforce returns. “We’re the workforce for the ... Read More